Splat! Something hit the windscreen. Something large. One of those ones you REALLY notice. And another. The wipers tried their best but a misty smear nonetheless formed in their wake across the whole of the windscreen. It was only then that I noticed just how many smaller, soundless collisions there had been during my drive down the A90. On arriving in Fife, I exclaimed aloud when I saw that the front of my white car wasn’t white anymore. Anyone who drives will be accustomed to this happening, but I genuinely couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen the car in…

As walkers, often venturing into wild and remote places, we can play an important role in the conservation of rare species that many people will never come across, but why bother with bumblebees? Here, Annie Ives – hillwalker and professional bumblebee-bagger as Project Officer for Bumblebee Conservation Trust – explains why these precious, mountain-dwelling pollinators deserve a place in our hearts and how we can help them when we are exploring the hills. Following a faint footpath (or is it a deer track?!) through knee-high heather, I hear a distinctive low hum. Automatically, my eyes join my ears, tuning in…

I’ve written a fair few spring-related articles over the years, each one pondering the various signs that herald the end of winter. And while I’ve always reasoned that spring is a culmination of numerous natural cues across a period of weeks, if I was forced to single-out one thing that represents spring more than any other, then it would be the return of the curlew. Appearance wise, the curlew is surely a contender for our most recognisable bird silhouette. Large, with long legs and a long neck, a small head, and a long and thin beak that curves downwards. That…

There’s not much life up high this time of year. Or at least, that’s the impression you get as you push through shifting sprindrift and up wind-scoured ridges. You can easily buy into the notion that there’s only you up there. As far as you’re concerned, you’re the only creature mad enough to try. But it’s often at times like those, when the wind is raging and you feel the need to keep moving to stay warm, that a small, plump white bird crosses your path. It’s never the case that I catch advance sight of its silhouette on a…

Usually, when I have a week’s autumn holiday on the west coast, I expect rain at some point. Or wind. Probably both. If I get two usable dryish days, then I consider myself lucky. And so, on the first day of November, with high pressure already established over the UK, I was delighted to see a dry forecast for the following week, as we were off to Argyll. The only snag was the forecast did look rather grey, with few sunny breaks. And true enough, on that first day it was gloomy. Dry, yes. But very gloomy. I told my…

On 1st September, little is more likely to cause a social media pile-on than excitedly proclaiming ‘Yay! It’s the first day of autumn! Goodbye summer!!’ Cue legions of annoyed folk ranting and arguing about equinox, equilux, harvest moons and goodness knows what else. Weather bods like to compartmentalise the seasons into three-month batches. Meteorological autumn is therefore September, October and November, and 1st September is its first day. It’s nice and orderly, happens the same time every year, and given that the meteorological autumn offers me the earliest opportunity to put summer to bed and confidently embrace the prospect of…

If you’re fortunate to share your daily life with swallows, as many of us are, you mightn’t necessarily realise just now reassuring a presence they are. They bring constant movement to the air, constant twittering to the sky. They’re a familiar but subtle backdrop to the summer months. And then, just like that, they’re gone. And everything just feels a bit….empty. We’re not quite at that point yet, but with day length shortening, it’s not far off. Swallows and martins Just so we’re clear which bird we’re talking about here, swallows are the lightning-fast ones whizzing about the place with…

After a winter of relative dormancy while much of the natural world slumbers, our senses kick into high gear as the warmer months progress. The explosion of life and activity means there are many amazing sights, sounds and smells for us to take in. But while most species grab our attention via one or perhaps two of those senses, the scots pine manages to tantalise all three. The sight We all know what a splendid sight old scots pines are, with their scaly red bark and sprawling asymmetrical crowns, and we love them for it. Their gnarly, deep green beauty…